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Korea Tobacco Is Solid,
But Pros Aren't Swayed

By

Jason BoothStaff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Sept. 30, 1999 12:01 a.m. ET

When Korea Tobacco & Ginseng lists its shares next week, it will be the eighth-biggest company on the Korean stock exchange with a near-monopoly in the domestic cigarette market, one of the world's largest.

Some other attractions: It will be the only major, publicly-traded Korean company that is free of debt; it's already a hit with local investors who, according to the underwriters, oversubscribed by a ratio of 57 to 1 for the 15% stake offered. Trading in the shares begins Oct. 8.